A wilted rose,Shattered mirrorAnd fragments of a face I knew.Lost, dying, breathless—Disintegrating. In the darkness I hear the demonKnocking behind the vaulted door.Only in the dark, only in theSuffocating walls of isolated thought—Those which never see the light—She knocks. I lock the door, but tuck the keyIn the pocket of my jeansThat have seen too…
To Forgive
I. I will not conform,But I will complyTo bear this pain you bring So I can loose the chainsOf bitterness andFeel wind again on my wings. I choose to bear thisPain you’ve caused—The pain you could not dispel— So I can focus nowOn healing andMaking all within me well. II. You extend your handAnd in…
Caged Bird
Oh, the golden chains of practicality. Trading one childhood for another for the sake of comfort and stability. But what of those who live their dreams freely, recklessly? ~~~*~~~ Trapped.Always a caged bird. They clipped the tips of my wingsSo I wouldn’t fly away;Drew lines in the sandWith tiny metal bars. They stroked my feathersAnd…
Recovery
Recovery is a loaded word. Although inherently it means relief from pain, it is replete with it. When one imagines recovery, one usually envisions the end; the point at which someone has arrived at a state of relief. But what recovery really is, is not an end at all. It is a beginning; a process that…
Chasing the Fruit and the Preference of Innocence: Contextual Influences of William Blake and Mary Wollstonecraft on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
In the wake of John Locke’s philosophical reintroduction of ‘tabula rasa’ into English society, a popular discourse arose on the subject of proper education for children—those whose minds were completely formidable and dependent on the careful instruction of both morals and knowledge-based intellect for their successful development and progression through life.1 Among the critics who…
Prayer
Please, I say.I lay it down.It falls, then fluttersAnd flies. It rises upAbove the roof,Brushes the clouds.And soars. Caught. Held. Heard. 18 October, 2019
Mother
I see you smiling at them,the boys, your jewels.They always were yourprecious stones, and Iyour polished silver. They beautiful as they were,I only so when polished,positioned and preppedfor the world to see,to gaze upon and admire. I’m no longer fit for your display.My tarnished spots nowsing an ancient song—in your world they offend.In mine they…
The Visit
I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t know it would be this hard. I kicked the leaves in front of me as I walked the familiar paths that encircled the neighborhood where I used to live. My iced fingers fisted inside wool pockets as a crisp autumn wind passed over me. The air…
Blindness in Oedipus the King
The exchange between Oedipus and Tiresias in lines 299-462 of Oedipus the King reveals several comparisons that center on a theme of blindness. It is evident in the world and also through the text that there can be varying degrees of blindness, or visual impairment. Words to describe one’s vision often involve ideas of light,…
Disguise and Identity in The Odyssey
Throughout the numerous adventures annotated in Homer’s The Odyssey, one theme pertaining to the main character and hero, Odysseus, stands out prominently within the text. It is the concept of disguise, a feature that marks Odysseus’ famous journey from Kalypso’s island all the way to the last moment of his homecoming. This theme is driven…